He moved to Havana, where he worked on the construction of the Habana Libre hotel and played for a team from the site itself.

In 1961 he was called up as a guest player to the Cuban team that competed in Costa Rica, and that same year they were world champions. On his return he played in the first National Series, of which he was a pioneer.

Open question: EcuRed calls the 1961 event in Costa Rica the “Central American Games”; the name is worth checking before we treat it as settled.

Source: EcuRed, drawing on the testimony of his wife and children and on the records of the Campechuela municipal sports office.